Dyspeptic retired Marine wife/tech wench attempts to enlighten the great unwashed of the blogosphere while dodging snarky commentary from the local knavery.

November 05, 2010

One Year Ago Today

Today it has been exactly one year since the Fort Hood massacre.

On that day, one of our own - VC commenter Philip Warman - lost his beloved wife Juanita. I wasn't able to write about it for several days, but what I said when I finally did is equally true on this sad anniversary:

America's armed forces are a rough and colorful patchwork composed of urban sophisticates and down home country boys and girls, cynics and romantics. Perhaps nowhere in America do men and women, blacks, whites, hispanics, Jews, gentiles, native born Americans and those with the ink still wet on their citizenship papers so successfully live, work, and bond together. This is, I think, the result of a resounding call to be part of something greater than ourselves. Though it took her away from those she loved so deeply, Juanita Warman heard and responded to that distant trumpet. She stepped up. When her country called, she was right there where America needed her to be.

And so, behind the scenes, was her family. We the protected owe America's military and their loved ones a great debt. On this Veteran's Day, it is my hope that stopping to reflect on Juanita's life will remind us how very lucky we are; of the values that unite us instead of those that divide us; of the very best that we can be when we put our shoulders to mastering great challenges and overcoming daunting odds.

There is great good in America still, and it is embodied by the men and women of our armed forces. And it is embodied by their wives, husbands, parents and children; by the brothers and sisters who lovingly wait for their return. On this Veterans Day it is my prayer that this healer's spirit will continue to console and guide those who are missing her so very much today.

I hope you will keep Philip and all the families of the Ft. Hood massacre in your hearts and in your prayers today.

War is a terrible thing - even more so when it comes home. If nothing else, horrors like the Ft. Hood shooting serve as a terrible reminder that evil exists, and that there are people who have dedicated their lives to opposing it.

My condolences to the Army community on the loss of so many of their own, today and always.

That Major Nidal Hasan is not yet a convicted felon stripped of his commission and possibly awaiting execution is a condemnation of the system, in that such a seemingly obvious slam dunk has to be handled so cautiously so at to provide no excuses for this perfidious betrayer-of-trust to use to beat the system and somehow walk.

Of course, the fact that Major Hasan still had a commission and was thus able to walk into that building legitimately wearing his uniform after being saluted by fellow soldiers is a sad indictment, too.